- published: 03 May 2013
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Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. (January 14, 1892 - November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer and director, and actor from the 1910s to the 1990s.
Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York, the grandson of Irish Immigrants. A presentation by the great American humorist Mark Twain impressed Roach as a young grade school student.
After an adventurous youth that took him to Alaska, Hal Roach arrived in Hollywood, California in 1912 and began working as an extra in silent films. Upon coming into an inheritance, he began producing short comedies in 1915 with his friend Harold Lloyd, who portrayed a character known as Lonesome Luke.
Also in 1915, Roach married actress Marguerite Nichols. They had two children, Hal, Jr. (1918–1972) and Margaret (1921–1964).
Unable to expand his studios in downtown Los Angeles because of zoning, Roach purchased what became the Hal Roach Studios from Harry Culver in Culver City, California. During the 1920s and 1930s, he employed Lloyd (his top money-maker until his departure in 1923), Will Rogers, Max Davidson, the Our Gang kids, Charley Chase, Harry Langdon, Thelma Todd, ZaSu Pitts, Patsy Kelly and, most famously, Laurel and Hardy. During the 1920s Roach's biggest rival was producer Mack Sennett. In 1925 Roach hired away Sennett's supervising director, F. Richard Jones.
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950) is an American stand-up comedian and television host.
From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.
James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973. Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran and a lawyer.
Actors: Richard Fell (producer), Trevor Cooper (actor), Lorelei King (actress), Jim Norton (actor), Dearbhla Molloy (actress), Emma Fryer (costume designer), Annie Kocur (editor), Neil Brand (writer), Neil Brand (writer), Neil Brand (writer), Howard Kingston (miscellaneous crew), Tristin Norwell (composer), Nick Green (composer), Ben Evans (producer), Jon Sen (director),
Plot: Based on the Neil Brand's critically acclaimed radio play of the same name, the drama follows Stan Laurel's last visit to his dying friend and comedy partner Oliver 'Babe' Hardy and Stan's subsequent coming to terms with the ghosts of his past.
Keywords: based-on-playActors: Frank von Zerneck (producer), Mark Snow (composer), Randy Sutter (producer), Loni Anderson (actress), Lois Smith (actress), Robert Davi (actor), Mace Neufeld (producer), Dakin Matthews (actor), John O'Hurley (actor), Paul Dooley (actor), Scott Paulin (actor), Lawrence Pressman (actor), Robert M. Sertner (producer), Christopher Landry (miscellaneous crew), Paul Wendkos (director),
Genres: Drama,